The Supreme Court is deciding whether sentencing teenagers to life imprisonment violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Research conducted by Temple psychologist Laurence Steinberg suggests that adolescents are more short-sighted, impulsive and susceptible to pressure than adults. "The brain systems responsible for people engaging in risk-taking, sensation-seeking and reckless behavior are much more easily aroused during adolescence than they are during adulthood," he said.